Cruentus Bellum
by Miss Jessica Riddle
Summary: Semi DH Compliant. The Dark Lord is rising in power and gaining allies. What happens when he betrays a powerful vampire dynasty? What will become of the spy and his student after they've been infected with the virus of vampirism? Main pairing is SS & OC.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters you can recognize from the Harry Potter series.

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CRUENTUS BELLUM

Blood Thirsty War

The room was full of glaring young witches and wizards, though the room was less full than it'd ever been before. They all sat in silence staring up at their newly appointed Headmaster, Severus Snape. It seemed as though the world was becoming more and more bleak by the minute since the mysterious death of Hogwarts' previous Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. His death was such a loss to the school, but many were at a loss to explain it. The only ones to have witnessed it were either at Hogwarts or on the run from the Ministry, which had also changed a great deal.

Over the summer, when Snape and Malfoy disappeared after Dumbledore's death, the Minister seemed to have died of natural causes, or at least that's what The Daily Prophet released. That's when the new laws started cropping up; laws of muggle-born registry and changes in alliance with mythical creatures. The latest in both is that muggle-borns are 'stealing' magic and werewolves are our warm and cuddly friends. Anyway, once the Ministry changed, everything changed. Harry Potter and the Weasley's went into hiding while Snape and Malfoy resurfaced and came back to Hogwarts which leads us here.

Occupying a seat at the Slytherin table Selena Kaliane contemplated her situation. She was the heir to the Kaliane fortune and her family's legacy was that of a prominent family up to their necks in Dark Arts going as far back as one of her great great great great relatives, Morgan LeFay. Unfortunately, in the last war, most of her family line was taken out during combat against the light. The only one left in the Kaliane Empire was the pale, young witch sitting quietly at the Slytherin table waiting to feign interest in the introduction of the new staff.

What was truly enticing her mind was the current war. Having had the finest education her family's gold could afford her summers had always been filled with extra classes. She knew the Ministry was obviously under new control. If the government was over thrown, then the Dark Lord was getting quite powerful, indeed. The new take on werewolves screamed that he was still in need of allies and whose door better to knock on than that of the Kaliane Mansion? It would seem her most secret wish of remaining the first Kaliane to… well, not be good exactly, she was a Slytherin, after all… but not bad either. It seemed, for the moment anyway, that though she had the name and the wealth, she lacked the power to refuse the Dark Lord, if he should decide to recruit her to his cause. As the introductions began, her mind continued to wander.

"There are quite a few obvious changes in staff this year," Snape whispered into the silence. "After the… unfortunate death of the previous Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore," he paused to view the general glares being shot at him from a general Gryffindor area. "I've agreed to take up the position, with Professor McGonagall as the Deputy Headmistress." His voice cut into the quiet room with an unnatural crispness.

"I am also most pleased to introduce the Carrows," he gestured to the table where two new and, quite frankly disturbingly cheerful people rose for a moment in acknowledgement. "They will be teaching Defense Against Dark Arts and Muggle Studdies." Many an eyebrow raised at the disappearance of their usual Muggle Studies teacher, who happened to be a squib and in no way able to protect herself from the wrath of death eaters. He continued on to say everything that was off limits and introduce a rat like man with a silver hand as the new care taker putting extra emphasis on not tolerating rule breakers and especially steering clear of the Forbidden Forrest.

The start of term feast was unusually silent, as well. Only the Slytherins, and not even all of them, were slightly animated by indulging in conversation that contained more than negative whispering and furthered glares towards the Headmaster. It seemed people were in the worst hurry to finish their dinner as to retire from the gaze of the newer staff members. The Carrows did look seriously disturbed and rat man looked like a pedophile. After the directions her thoughts were taking as of late and the havoc the stress was reeking on her stomach, Selena decided against a big meal. Excusing herself from the presence of those seated beside her she swiftly departed from the great hall through a side door as to leave unnoticed.

Seeing as the Slytherin Prefects were still at the front of the Slytherin table conversing with the Head Boy, Draco Malfoy she couldn't find out the password to the common room. Instead of waiting for them to journey down into the dungeons she decided to get some fresh air. Venturing to the top of the astronomy tower she gazed out upon the landscape surrounding her.

The sky was a beautiful mix of dark blue and purple complemented by the deep green and black colors of the Forrest. Why, she wondered, would he have such a firm stand against entering the Forrest? Though the most likely answer was that there were Death Eaters or the usual dangerous creatures lurking around its dark confines, but it seemed so unlikely at the same time. Why would he warn them against Death Eaters in the Forrest when he was bringing them into the castle? Amycus and Alecto are obviously working for Voldemort, their smile entirely too similar to the taunting smirk of a powerful predator to prove innocence.

After gazing out towards the thick green patches of trees on the outskirts of the field surrounding Hogwarts, Selena felt a strong longing to know what was really in their depths. She'd gone inside before, but not far enough where the light was obscured, barely inside at all. Still, there was her family's name to think of. The one thing her parents had asked her, was to carry on the prestige of the Kaliane Legacy. The Kaliane's probably won't make it too far if the last one dies before giving birth to another heir... but then again, who would care? The last of her family was dead, so it's not as if they'd know and besides that, she wouldn't be in _that_ much danger to begin with. Deciding to give up her idea of exploration for now in favor of reconsidering it later, she opted to go down to the dungeons on the off chance the rest of the Slytherins were done eating.

As she was climbing down the steep steps leading to her previous location atop the tower she was suddenly forced to take a few steps backwards as someone ran straight into her. Looking down into the dark stair way, a frightening sight met her eyes.

"Oh – hic – hello my – hiciyeh – dear." Selena tried to shimmy past the intoxicated divinations professor on the narrow stairway, an event proving more difficult than originally anticipated. "Did you enjoy – hic – the feast, Miss…"

"Selena Kaliane, Ma'am," she choked out through gritted teeth. "Can I help you up the stairs?"

"Nah, darlin' I've been doin' this for – hic – years," she yelled loudly trying to push her way past the agitated 7th year. Selena jumped onto the windowsill to avoid falling so Trelawney could get by.

Making her way down stairs she had to wonder why Snape didn't have enough sense to fire the fraud. Everyone knew she couldn't make a prediction to save her life. It seemed her day couldn't get any worse when she had to hide from a group of rouge Gryffindors wandering away from their common room. That failure, Longbottom lead two others towards the lower levels. To kill some time she'd decided to follow them. When they stopped at the Entrance Hall she had to duck behind a statue to keep from being seen by Alecto, the female Carrow.

Turning around she was surprised to find that her newfound prey had vanished. Rushing to the window she saw three figures running towards the Forest. Still wondering how they'd gotten outside she spared a glance at the large doors held firmly in place by sheer size. It was more probable they slipped out the door leading to the courtyard, however, upon finding it locked she began to put some thought into her musings. Figuring, as they were friends with the boy who found the Chamber of Secrets they knew about a few other secret passage ways.

Worrying that, by now, all the Slytherin students might already be inside the common room she walked to the dungeons at a swifter pace. Finding no one about when she'd finally arrived she began to make her way to the Potions classroom. The chambers for Slytherin's Head of House was next to the classroom and though she didn't relish being in the company of that arrogant Slughorn fellow she didn't want to be caught out after hours by the new caretaker.

As a change of luck would have it, Selena didn't have to do either at the moment. As she'd readied her fist to knock on Slughorn's door Draco Malfoy stepped out of the common room with Pansy Parkinson in one hand, a bottle of fire whiskey in the other. They both froze for a moment, before Draco leaned against the wall and raised his brow in the unspoken question of 'What the hell are you doing out here?'

"I didn't catch the password," Selena spoke softly in the echoing corridors.

"Weren't you with the rest of us when we first can in," he asked in a surprisingly even tone for someone who was too drunk to stand upright without support from a wall.

"The Divinations teacher wanted a word with me, so no. I'm afraid it took longer than I'd expected, so if you don't mind…" It wasn't really a lie, they did talk and she did take longer than she'd planned to arrive at the common room.

"Password's – uh – Dark Arts – hic," Pansy slurred, giggling slightly. Masking a look of discuss and adverting her gaze from the untrusting stare of the Head Boy's she thanked them for their kindness and walked through the portrait of Salazar Slytherin into the outskirts of the annual start of term Slytherin party.

Deciding a few drink would calm her nerves and relieve a bit of stress she grabbed a bottle from the decreasing amount on the table. In favor of not getting wasted in front of potential enemies, for that is how a traditional pureblood Slytherin is raised to think of friends, she climbed the stairs down to her dorm room.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she thought about why those Gryffindors would want to venture into the Forrest. She also debated on whether or not to follow their example. It was a terrible debate, though, if the fire whiskey was taken into account it wasn't that bad. In the end she settled on the whole 'they're dead anyway' thing. Before setting the bottle down half empty she climbed beneath her covers, too tired to change, only taking the time to kick off her shoes. Her last thoughts were that if the little Gryffindor adventure club were well and alive tomorrow she'd see the inside of the Forrest for herself.

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'They can't even wait 24 hours until getting in trouble,' Snape thought while pacing in his office. 'Where the hell could those damn Gryffindors have gone?'

He knew the most likely place they'd gone. He was a fool to exaggerate his wishes concerning the Forbidden Forrest. Now, torn between wanting to send out a search party and knowing they'd probably never find the students on their own, he knew he'd end up going to find them. Unfortunately, going into a dark, secluded area with a group of witches and wizards who'd love nothing more than to kill him wasn't going to happen.

'Wonderful,' he snarled to himself. 'I always wanted to walk into _that_ branch of the Forrest alone.' He was thinking, of course, of the place the Death Eaters were trying to recruit one of the most dangerous creatures in the Forrest. He might be able to pull those idiotic Gryffindors out of the Forrest unscathed if he pulled every string he could. They knew him, so they would probably agree to his request. However, if there were strangers in the Forrest, they would know, and depending on their mood, they would hunt.

Grabbing his cloak from the back of his chair he flew down the stairs skipping every three steps in his haste. On his way down the moving stairs he stopped at McGonagall's room. Knocking quickly, but firmly he could hear rustling on the other side of the door. The door opened slowly giving way to the Deputy Headmistress, still in her nightclothes with a shawl wrapped around her frame and a wand in her hand.

"Yes, Severus" she asked crisply. He almost rolled her eyes at her animosity.

"Minerva, a few of the students have gone into the Forrest," he paused to let it sink in. "Three Gryffindors are missing-"

"Don't waste my time, you know Potter, Weasley, and Granger aren't-"

"I'm not talking about them," he growled. "Longbottom was seen by Alecto leading too others out into the Forrest." She raised her brow in disbelief of the boy leading anyone near the Forrest. He stared her down until she believed he wasn't lying.

"Well, who else is going to get them," she asked in a shrill, commanding tone while pocketing her wand.

"Who said you were going," Snape scoffed.

"I am going, Severus," she replied softly. "You know damn well what's out there." He blanched for a moment wondering how much she knew. Seeing as she thought taking more than just them to look for the students she only knew he'd been in the Forrest, not with whom he'd been conversing with.

"Fine, but just us," he said trying to hurry her out the door. "Wasting anymore time could be crucial," he continued his journey down the stairs with a new companion. "We should put someone else in charge while we're gone," he added as an after thought.

"Hmm, you're right I suppose, but how long will it really take," she asked him as they stopped in the entrance hall.

"I'm not sure, a day at the least." Her face paled as she realized just how far in they'd be going. "The school needs at least one of us," he continued on, unable to find a suitable replacement for them from among the staff. "As Deputy Headmistress you have an obligation to-"

"All the students, Severus, including the ones out in the Forrest!"

"Alright, so who do we put in charge," he hissed in aggravation at her stubbornness. They thought a moment before they decided on the librarian and nurse. The librarian to keep order and the nurse to fix what ever keeping order had done to the children.

Having settled that matter, they called a house elf to inform the staff of the changes and made their way out of the castle through the courtyard and headed into the Forrest. They hadn't seen Selena follow them out after listening in on their conversation. They also hadn't seen Amycus and Alecto eaves dropping hidden by the shadows cast from the grand stair case. As soon as the Headmaster and his second in command left, they called back the house elf and confounded him so they were able to take and rewrite the note. After putting themselves in charge, they decided to go announce their temporary staff change to the Great Hall. After that, they felt inclined to see the Dark Lord. They were sure that the Dark Lord would want to stop Severus from ruined their slow forming relations with the Vampires with a petty favor to spare a few lives from their hunt.

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Author's Notes: I know it's a boring beginning, but trust me; this chapter was just the exposition of the story. It gets much better from here. I have another fanfic out that I'm working on, Alea Jacta Est. Its chapters are much longer, but I like the plot line for this one more… probably because it won't take me so bloody long to finish. Anyway, you know what to do, just press the little review button and leave me some love. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters you can recognize from the Harry Potter series.

**CRUENTUS BELLUM**

Blood Thirsty War

After about fifteen hours of traveling through the thick Forrest and nearly losing sight of her teachers countless times, Selena glanced at her wrist watch. 11:15 p.m. It was a miracle that there hadn't been any encounters with other beings of the Forrest, but she accepted the theory that either Professor McGonagall or the Headmaster knew a safe route to where ever they thought Neville and the others had gone to.

Though the feeling of being watched had remained for the entire journey, every ounce of anticipation towards an attack had left her system after a few hours of monotonous hiding behind trees, treading softly, and keeping an eye on her mentors in case they were to turn and notice her. With the lack of caution Selena had been sporting for the past ten or so hours she had to stifle a gasp and backtrack to find suitable brush to hide behind when Snape suddenly stopped in his tracks, pulling McGonagall to an abrupt halt as well.

She watched anxiously from behind the thorny bushes as he whipped his wand out of his robes and blasted a bolt of light into the ground at his feet. McGonagall drew her own wand and made to step away from him, but he grabbed her arm before she'd so much as taken one step. McGonagall seemed ready with a retort and a curse, but before either could be put into effect a beam of light encompassed both teachers physically shielding them from the rising winds.

The sky, darkened as a figure obscured the already faint light of the moon. Looking up Serena saw it was not one large figure, but many smaller ones that had caused this eclipse. _Bats, wonderful_. Selena crouched lower as they began to descend. Despite the roller coaster of uneasy excitement and contemplative boredom seeing the bats transform mid-landing definitely scored an eleven out of ten on the weirdness scale.

As Selena kneeled in an effort to appear smaller, or rather, not to appear at all, she felt a gust of wind as one of the creatures appeared beside her. Unsure of what action to take she remained still for a moment, each of them staring in disbelief at the other. She took in that the creature was male, though had rather feminine features. Soft face, lean figure, and gloriously alluring, yellow eyes which scrutinized her with a gaze of unknowing innocence, a vacant and pure smile on his pale lips.

As more of the beasts began to land and crowd around them a tight knot began to form in her stomach. Damning her slim – to – none chances of survival whether she revealed her location to the Professors or made a run for the castle, a day's brisk walk from where she stood, Selena decided to take her chances on running now. Without breaking her gaze at the warm honeyed stare she swiftly reached for her wand. Her grasp never found its mark.

Without tearing his eyes away from hers he'd pushed her backwards gently, but firmly holding her wrists to the ground. Trying to push herself away from beneath his carefully applied weight she was only too dismayed to find he'd come to rest between her legs, her waist being held down by the weight of his own. Her entire body tensed when the creatures golden eyes turned from honey yellow to a deep maroon. He looked her up and down with a smirk gracing his thin lips, but not quite reaching up to his eyes, the once benevolent eyes that now held nothing short of the fiercest glare she'd ever seen.

Selena shivered trying and, by the glint in the beast's gaze, failing to keep her fear from rising into her eyes. Opting instead for her second plan of alerting the teachers to her presence she only parted her lips ever so slightly before all thought of screaming died. With those glaring eyes now only about an inch away from hers and his breathe surprisingly closer and very cold against her autumn blushed cheeks Selena was fresh out of ideas. Though she desperately wanted to make a further attempt to break free of his hold the possible consequences of agitating such a divinely malicious creature didn't hold much promise.

After a moment of increased heart rate, the dangerous stranger began to hold her down with more force. She gasped as his long nails dug into her wrists drawing blood. In the first instant that the crimson liquid appeared, the moment her heart skipped a beat when she'd noticed all eyes were turned toward her, thankfully including the gaze of her teachers.

Turning her head slightly as to not allow her lips to touch his in their close proximity she saw her professors' reactions all too clearly. McGonagall emitted a sharp intake of breath and staggered forward before she was stopped by Snape. Eyes wide he pulled her behind him discretely handing her a piece of paper and began to walk forward.

The creatures' seemed to know when to move aside to allow him to continue his pace uninterrupted by weaving through the crowd. Stopping a few yards away he looked down at the absurd circumstance Selena had managed to get caught up in.

"Caligula," he stated in a soft hiss. "Kindly remove yourself from my student… _immediately_." Looking back to the creature she assumed was referred to as Caligula she noticed his gaze had moved to look at her professor who was standing in front of him. They remained staring at each other for such a long time Selena wondered if they were battling with Occlumency with Legilimency until a rustle came from behind them. Both Snape and Caligula's eyes widened considerably at the sound of a voice in the shadows.

"You will both stop your games, _now_, and pay us our due respect." From within the darker shades of the Forrest two cloaked figures strode forward until they were standing in front of both men, who were kneeling before them.

Snape had managed to glide up to kneel beside Selena. Caligula knelt on the other side, freeing Selena so quickly she hadn't noticed her lack of physical captivity until she saw him beside her. Realizing she was still lying on the ground she pulled up her torso, but her legs refused to gather enough strength to stand. Even sitting up straight was proving difficult at the moment when her vision began to blur.

The cloaked figures pulled back their hoods simultaneously and Selena just barely confined her gasp of surprise. Standing before her was both Lord Voldemort and Lord Diage, whom she recognized and remembered vaguely from her History of Magic classes. He beckoned for the three of them to rise and as they did both Snape and Caligula tried to stand behind her. Caligula, though scraping determinedly at Snape's arm in a rather unnoticeable manner, was roughly shoved aside as Snape place his hands on her shoulders and peered at the Lords from behind her.

Voldemort stepped towards them as Diage watched with interest. Taking her chin in his hand he tilted her face up to meet his gaze. Selena, though startled to be looking into the eyes of the very person she'd hoped to avoid wondered what had become of the others, of her Transfiguration's Professor who'd vanished and the other students unfortunate enough to wander this far. Feeling slightly repulsed by the chill of his cold hand against her skin she ignored the urge to pull away and only shivered slightly. He hissed out a soft chuckle at her reaction and pulled his hand away.

"I want an explanation as to why she's here and who, exactly, she is," Diage said in a raised voice which held both a cautious and rough tone. Voldemort nodded to Snape and he spoke immediately.

"She's the last descendant of the Kaliane Dynasty, my Lords, though I haven't any idea what she's doing here. My guess is that she followed us, for some unfathomable reason."

'_Oh… bugger',_ she thought venomously. It would seem that she'd already been discovered by the Dark Lord as a useful resource. What a predicament, to choose the Light over Dark would bring death, but would choosing to joining the Dark Side be any better? '_Ah well, live today die tomorrow_' Selena told herself silently, getting ready to accept her fate.

"Reasons don't matter to me, only the fact that she's here," Voldemort hissed in a rather unfortunately content tone. "I've been looking into your family line for quite a while Selena," she shivered when hearing her name spoken by his forked tongue.

He looked over at Snape and hissed, reverting to Parsseltounge. Selena who was still bleeding out rather quickly hoped she wouldn't faint, thought the surrounding environment beginning to spin wasn't agreeing with her wishes. Before Snape could reply her legs gave out and in that moment everything but content sleep left her mind. Feeling herself fall into someone or something's embrace she found herself not entirely caring. If this was the end at least it'd be enjoyably painless.

The Headmaster caught her before she hit the ground and rose with her in his arms. He took a quick glance at those around him and then nodded. Lord Diage's eyes widened as Lord Voldemort summoned every single marked Death Eater. Suddenly both curses and bodies were flying. Voldemort and Snape both rose into the air and glided through the Forrest, Snape still carrying Selena in his arms. Five minutes of sailing through the night and they were joined by a group of bats.

Voldemort flew closer so that he was right beside Snape holding a still unconscious and bleeding Selena. He gathered her hands in his breaking apart only once to avoid being his by a tree and muttering a spell closed the wounds while ripping the already torn sleeve. He held out his arms to hold a recently materialized Selena look alike made from the real one's bloodied clothes.

"I'll lead them away with the scent of her blood so that you can return to the castle with her. When she awakens I want you to take her to Malfoy Manor where I will be wai-"

The instructions were broken off by the Vampire Lord himself diving between them. Snape and Voldemort both swerved to go in separate directions. Diage growled so loudly his fierce snarl resounded through out the Forrest in a deafening roar. Before even the echo's could cease a wave of air born vampires were flying towards them by the hundreds coming from all directions.

Half set about claiming the Dark Lord while the other half hurled themselves at Snape with tremendous force. Seeing the horde of vampires closing in around him Snape shielded himself with the strongest spell he could perform without a wand and added a curse to the shield. As the army hit the barrier they were engulfed in flame and fell from the sky with screams of astonished agony. The shield expanded as the rest tried to flee and killed all from the hundreds but Caligula and two women, all were cloaked in the same deep color red as Diage instead of the rest who'd had on black cloaks.

They eyed him in apprehension before rage overtook their sense of loss. Snape spared a glance around him to find Voldemort in a fierce battle with Diage, the other half of the army surrounding them, but most likely ordered not to intervene. Facing his own adversary he turned in time to see both Caligula and one of the women with clawed hands pulled back ready to strike. He moved from their reach and cradling Selena to him with one arm, used the other to cast a body binding curse with wandless magic on the woman. As she began to fall, Caligula glared at them before he swooped down to catch her, flying them both safely to the ground. At the same moment Snape brought his gaze back to the other girl, younger than the other who'd fallen, who'd flown to hover in front of him. There was no emotion on her face as she brought her talon like nails out in a horizontal motion as if to stab him. He dodged her attack by flying up to try to loose her in the entanglement of the Forrest's tree limbs, vines, and sharp leaves. Though the sharp leaves and vines cut and held him, he continued to climb upward trying to avoid the boughs which would leave far worse than bruises and scrapes. As he flew above the tree tops and was greeted by the light of the waning moon he suddenly felt insecure and alone. With the possibility of her coming at him from any angle he flew in a tight circle waiting for her to pounce.

Hearing a noise from the trees behind him he turned to see a small rock rise from the tree tops and fall out of view. The two hands at the base of his neck confirmed his suspicions that the girl had distracted him in order to sneak up from behind.

"You sneaky little _bitch_," he hissed out once her otherworldly whispers had ceased. She responded by running both her hands from where they'd come to rest on his back to the bottom of hi rib cage. He let out a low growl and though badly injured he flew forward at a speed he'd never achieved before. Once she had caught up and was flying directly behind him he wandlessly transfigured a leaf pulled from a branch into a dagger. Bracing himself for the moment of truth he turned and stopped with the dagger extended. She flew into both him and the dagger with her hands grasping firmly at his throat constricting his air way. The force knocked them backwards though they continued to struggle against their pain in favor of trying to kill their enemy.

Though the female vampire had taken the dagger out of her chest and was using it to swing wildly at Snape he was continuing to block her blows with wandless magic. Eventually the female had lost enough blood to pass out while still falling through the seemingly endless tunnel of foliage. As Snape's curse, a cry of Sectumsempra, she was truly dead. Using what remained of his energy he slowed their plummet to the ground and landed on one of the wider branches still holding Selena's limp frame to his.

Turning slightly he saw the battle between Diage and Voldemort reach it's peak. After Voldemort cast another spell at Diage his left side became unguarded. Diage took the opportunity given to him by dodging the spell and clawing at The Dark Lords left arm. Voldemort flew backwards clutching his bleeding limb and eyed Diage before casting the Morsmorde Spell and apparating out of the Forrest. Diage flew forward to claim the falling cloth that had been the Selena look alike. He brought the torn fabric to his mouth and tasted the blood.

Looking around at his followers he growled in rage. "Find the Master and Mistriss along with their child and round up the rest of the Death Eaters. Do not touch Severus or the girl… they are for me." Snape eyed Lord Diage and waited until his gaze was turned away from him to cast an advance concealment charm to hide their appearance and scent on both himself and his student whose breathing was becoming labored. Knowing he had little time before they'd both die of blood loss he rose scraping his sorely bruised and bleeding back against the tree as he did so.

Flying slowly through the brush he stopped at the sight of a stray centaur bringing home a skinned rabbit. Still concealed he confounded the creature and stole away his prize. Flying a bit more quickly he made sure to bleed the hare as much as possible. After half an hour, nearly ready to pass out himself he saw a Thestral following behind him. Slowing his pace he mounted the winged horse after throwing him the small carcass and whispered "Shrieking Shack" to the beast. Securing Selena to lay side saddle, leaning against him he relaxed as the majestic creature bound smoothly towards the castle.

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Author's Notes: Okay well, I'm sorry it took so long to update, but I plan on updating this one every week, the longer fanfic 'Alea Jacta Est' every month. Unfortunately I might not be able to stick to the later until Thanksgiving break. I'm really behind on school work. I already failed Bio last year and if I fail it again my dad might kill me… not really, but he'll take away my laptop, so I gotta study. Hell it's not like too many people read my stuff anyway. Seriously, check out Alea Jacta Est, it's longer and better, though I do have some revising to do… maybe tomorrow after I study. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters you can recognize from the Harry Potter series.

**CRUENTUS BELLUM**

Blood Thirsty War

Selena opened one eye, then the other. Everything seemed hazy at first, but her vision began to clear up quickly enough. Looking around she found herself to be lying in a dark room unfamiliar with any of those she'd seen in Hogwarts. Taking a closer look at the room, as her eyes began to adjust to the darkness, she saw a decrepit stair case just out side the door. Turning around to look at the actual room she saw an old fireplace with a chair resting on a dirty and torn area rug. Hearing a noise at the bottom of the stairs she thought about hiding beneath the bed she was lying down on, but as the voices were joined by foot steps she reconsidered how much time she had.

Settling on pretending to still be asleep she had just finished settling down comfortably when the partially opened door creaked to emit what sounded like Professor McGonagall and whom ever it was she was arguing with. The floor boards creaked and she heard the chair scrape on the ground being pulled closer to where she lay blindly observing. There was an indent at the edge of the bed as the springs squeaked under the wait of another body, too.

"It's cold," broke a weak whisper into the silence. She couldn't tell who it belonged to, but was glad for it's unspoken command as she felt a warm fire spring to life in the hearth. Selena relaxed a bit, enjoying the change in temperature, though still wary of her unknown environment. "Check her," hissed the whisper of a voice again as a warm hand gently brushed a stray hair out of her face. It took a lot not to flinch at the sudden, unanticipated contact.

McGonagall muttered an incantation under her breath and Selena went limp for a moment enjoying such a wonderful feeling of contentment that couldn't possibly be described. "She's awake," McGonagall stated flatly. Never in her life had Selena had something that excellent end so abruptly. Her body tensed as she slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze stayed on the pillow for a moment before moving to meet the gaze of both the Headmaster who was seated in the chair near the fire and the Head of Gryffindor sitting beside her on the bed.

Finding nothing else to say Selena asked the simplest thing she wanted to know. "What happened," she whispered, finally aware of a sore throat and rather ravenous appetite. Snape rolled his eyes and McGonagall fixed her with a look of pure pity.

"What do you remember," she asked Selena gently with a touch of fear in her voice.

"And start with why you were following us," Snape snarled, his voice still uncharacteristically weak. As Selena went over her suspicions of the three Gryffindors and how she trailed them into the Forrest she could see the disappointment in her teacher's expressions all too clearly. When retelling her encounter with Caligula the Headmaster's expression turned rather cold and his face paled slightly. Having left off at the moment right before she passed out, the last thing she mentioned was a conversation in Parsseltounge.

"Minerva, leave us," he hissed into the once seemingly endless silence. Both women startled at the command. McGonagall stared at him as if trying to find something lost in his calm expression. Finally she turned to Selena to give her a reassuring smile and pat her hand before exiting the room.

"If I'm no longer needed here, I'll be back at the castle," she said while stopping in the doorway.

"Yes, go," he replied with a nod. "As soon as you're in, though, send an owl," he continued as she had turned to go down the stairs. "I'm not yet sure of the proper course of action." With a nod, she disappeared down the stair case and Selena heard a door shut at the bottom.

The headmaster waited a moment before shuffling towards the exit. Selena's hope of his departure vanished after he shut the door, fear of what was to come swift in taking its place.

"Do you speak Parsseltounge," he asked her, still facing the door with his hand on the knob.

"No, sir."

"You mean to tell me," he asked turning slightly in her direction, "That you cannot understand what The Dark Lord had said to me?"

"No-"

"Get up, now," he commanded with a glare as he began walking towards the bed. He waited beside the bed as she struggled against her own weakness. After one minute of dizzy, room spinning torture he turned to face her. Without warning she saw him get on the bed to sit closely in front of her as he placed his cold, slender fingers on her temple.

With just as little warning she found herself thrown into the memory of when she'd first seen Caligula. It was an out of body experience, as a memory from a penseive was, though it shocked her to find she could understand the words spoken in Parsseltounge. "I've been looking into your family line for quite a while Selena," The Dark Lord revealed in English. "What ever she chooses, she will not be handed over to these beasts," he said quietly in Parsseltounge.

As she was being pulled back into reality she felt weak enough to pass out again and was highly surprised to find she didn't. She was also surprised to find her headmaster still sitting so close to her. Sitting back against the wall she asked "What did you do?"

"I'll tell you soon enough," he replied, his expression concerned and his voice sounding distant as he tied a letter to an owl she hadn't noticed arrive. As it flew off he returned his full attention to her. "You can either hear all I've got to say now, or in the morning," he told her.

Without thinking about it for too long she answered, "Now, sir."

"The creature beside the Dark Lord," he began. "Was Lord Diage, King of the Vampires. The vampire who accosted you tonight was his son, Master Caligula. He also has a daughter, Mistress Valinda. Both brother and sister married, as is common in their dynasty and had first a boy and then a girl. Years ago, they married their eldest child, their son Lafayette to a female in one of their rival clan well steeped in pure blood and I haven't heard of him since."

"The daughter," Selena asked tentatively.

"Until tonight… they still had their daughter, Gabriella." He paused, but some how she knew to wait until he began again.

"I was the one who killed the girl, which might have ended their multi-century long reign. Unfortunately, there is a possibility that they will find a way to end Lafayette's union and have him remarried to some one within their own clan, thus continuing their claim to the throne." Noting Selena's look of confusion he continued.

"He can't bring his current wife back with him because that would reverse what I believe he's doing. Instead of spying on a powerful rival clan, his wife would be spying on theirs."

"So how does this tie in with me," Selena asked him, not at all wanting to know. He waited in silence avoiding her gaze. "_How_?"

"The virus of vampirism is transferred through the blood. Caligula draws on others' blood and dips the tip of his fingers in it. He deliberately scratched you…"

"Oh… so… uh, what happens now," she asked softly. He kept his eyes lowered as he responded in an equally soft voice.

"The Dark Lord wishes to recruit you in the same way as he had recruited both Lucius Malfoy and the late Regulus Black. He wants you for financial and sociably influential support, however both were into the more labor related servitude as well."

"And Lord Diage, is he after me, as well," she asked just before the owl returned with multiple vials wrapped with a Gryffindor scarf. He set aside the one that was filled with a thick red substance and one that was a light blue liquid with white vapor rising from the top.

"My guess is that he would wish to recruit you for the same purposes. Because The Dark Lord views you as a valuable asset he'd rather have you with them than against them." She nodded and asked the question that had been on her mind for a while.

"What was The Dark lord planning with the vampires?"

"He'd hoped for an alliance with them, some thing similar to his agreements with the giants and the dementors. He's also working on building trust with the werewolves, but it's proving more difficult," he finished with a smirk.

"Take only the red for now," he gestured towards the potions while taking another vile with a blackish cream in it and moving closer to her on the bed. After one sip her eyes closed in contentment at the metallic taste on her lips and savored every drop until it was gone. With a sigh she began looking at her headmaster who seemed transfixed on her lips. He leaned forward and brushed a finger across her lower lip catching the drop of blood that had been left unnoticed.

Without thinking, she grabbed his wrist with a rush of surprisingly renewed strength as he'd begun to move away. Leaning forward she gazed up at him pleadingly with a dangerously red tint in her eye. Holding him with her gaze she licked the blood off his finger as he tensed under her unnerving stare.

"Miss Kaliane," he whispered through gritted teeth. No response. Selena, withdrawn from his hand, had been eyeing his wrist with a disturbing abandon of all else around her, his pleas included. Trying to break free of her grasp while still weak with his own hunger to satisfy wasn't going to work.

"_Selena_," he hissed in Parsseltounge as she drew her lips close to his hand. Her eyes darted away from his pale skin and she looked fazed as she released his wrist. Shaking her head she physically distanced herself by sitting farther away from him as he rose to the seat near the fire.

"I… I didn't mean to… what happened," she asked as he uncorked another vile of blood and downed it to quickly for her to even think about stealing it away.

"Hematomania," he muttered. "Blood lust." She watched him relax in the chair and felt less on edge as the blood high began to wear off. Opening his half lidded eyes he returned to sit on the edge of the bed. "You _will_ learn to control that particular impulse." He reached for the blue vile on the dusty side table and uncorked it before passing it to her. "Dreamless Sleep."

"How long will I be out for," she asked cautiously eyeing the smoking liquid. "How long will I be _here_ for…"

"It's about two in the morning, so you'll be asleep until noon. You'll be here until I can think of how to handle your various predicaments."

"Which are…?" For a minute he looked as though he wasn't going to answer her.

"The Dark Lord wished to see you once you were awake." A dead silence hung in the small room. Selena paled realizing just how close her worst fears were. Being a vampire, there were ways to live with that. Working for The Dark Lord, her greatest obstacle she'd hoped beyond all reason to avoid, that was something else. Without another thought she brought the vial to her lips. Unfortunately for her, Snape snatched it out of her tilting hand.

"I need – your – help with – this," he said breaking in between moments when her hand shot out to grab the vile. Finally fed up with her antics he grabbed both her wrists effectively pinning her hands above her head. Already kneeling beside her he automatically moved to straddle her legs when she started thrashing.

"_Get off_," she gasped trying to hold back tears. Selena continued her struggling, but stopped after finding no way to wriggle free and more importantly get a hold of that potion, that truly magical way to sleep everything away.

"You know your options. I need to know your choices," he told her loosening his grip on her wrists and shifting a lot of his weight off her legs.

"I have only two choices with The Dark Lord," she began slowly. "I choose to live." He stared at her for a moment then released her wrists at a deliberately slow speed and moved to sit beside her.

"It all depends on how you choose to live," he whispered, looking more tired and less alert than she'd ever seen him. "During the background checks I did some extra monitoring on you."

"So," she whispered apathetically.

"So I know you don't want to join him," he continued slightly agitated. "I trust you with that, but what I don't know is if you're willing to help the other side."

"Which side are you on?" The second it slipped out she listened to how it sounded. She couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong with the question, but she still didn't like it. She chanced a glance in his direction and was surprised to see a bitter smirk gracing his ever scowling features.

Author's Note: Muahahaha cliffy-ness! Yeah, not really, I haven't even decided which side I want him on, yet, so you're not really missing out on anything. The cliffy was just done to save my own indecisive ass. Hey, and I'm sorry I've been so terribly slow to update, but there's a little trouble with school life and family members. Once I get over it, I swear the material I wrestle from such experiences will be incorporated into my fanfics. Something tells me you guys won't be disappointed. Really will try to update more often, but no matter how long it takes these _will_ be finished. Thanks for sticking around, I appreciate it a lot.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters you can recognize from the Harry Potter series.

**CRUENTUS BELLUM**

Blood Thirsty War

"Which side are you on?" The second it slipped out she listened to how it sounded. She couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong with the question, but she still didn't like it. She chanced a glance in his direction and was surprised to see a bitter smirk gracing his ever scowling features.

"Both, care to join me," he replied sarcastically. If only, she wished, if only it could be that simple.

"What would working for both sides entail," she asked surprised at her casual tone. Selena was sure his neck would snap from the speed he turned to face her with a questioning glare in his eyes.

"I will not allow you to toy with the notion of who you choose to serve," he told her fiercely. "You could be the one to make or break this war."

"You can't be serious," she breathed as she slumped against the wall beside him.

"Of course I am," he stiffened slightly when she moved more closely to him. "All I need to know is what you're willing to do," he said softly holding out the vile in front of him. "Then you can sleep while I make all necessary arrangements."

"I," she stopped unsure of her choice. "I will work for both sides," she whispered reaching out to his hand for the vile. Once she had it in her hand she felt much more at ease. She swallowed the whole contents in one sip, most of it apparently mist. Almost immediately she felt as light headed as when she first awoke.

Feeling him stir beside her she looked to her side with half lidded eyes and saw nothing but darkness. She could feel herself being lifted and then set down again, so that she was lying on her side. He muttered a wandless spell and the fire grew brighter and filled the room with it's warmth. Still she shivered slightly. A colder hand was placed on her forehead and she heard him swear softly.

The last thing she remembered was a heavy blanket being placed over her body smothering the chilling feel of her own skin. The dawn was beginning to break as the headmaster sent another letter back to the castle before transfiguring another cot near the fire and downing his own vile of Dreamless Sleep.

"Miss Kaliane," came a shrill voice from out of the darkness. Why, Selena wondered was it so dark? She opened one eye as the loud voice called her name again and was met with the same dimly lit, dusty room from last night. Oh, she chided herself and cracked her other eye open to see Professor McGonagall standing in front of her bed with Snape sitting on a cot near the fire, a thick wool blanket wrapped tightly around him.

"She up yet," he asked looking at the fire.

McGonagall responded with a quiet 'yes' as he rose and strode over the side of her bed, the blanket still draped over his shoulders. He first felt her forehead as he'd done last night and then pulled the blanket back to reveal an arm that had certainly paled over night.

"Severus," McGonagall spoke anxiously. "Must she really do thi-"

"She chose it," he cut her off while uncorking a larger vial of blood. As soon as the stopper was off she made a weak and obvious lung for it. He used his unoccupied hand to push her back onto the bed with effortless ease. Her eyes turned from a deep blue to the darkest of all reds, almost black. Having been holding just out of her reach he moved it close enough for her to grab it and swallow every drop.

"Check her forehead again to see if the fever has gone down," he instructed McGonagall while lifting the sheets again. The skin on her body was still pale, but not early as pale as it had been before.

"The fever's spiked," McGonagall told him.

"How do you feel," he asked her after taking his own vile of blood.

"I don't feel cold anymore, in fact I feel like my blood's on fire," she replied. "Even so, it feels… amazing," she continued on. "I feel more alive than ever before."

"That's ironic," he remarked. "Seeing as this is your bodies way of saying you're dying." McGonagall gasped and Selena's breath hitched. "Relax," he continued, "All vampires go through this. Only those born into that damnable dynasty feel it as you do, though."

"Which means what," McGonagall asked with a deep tone of depressed concern echoing into her every word.

"That's not possible, unless Caligula used his own blood to infect me," she replied unwilling to believe she'd just been drawn even further into a third side of a new, unspoken war. Snape sighed and nodded. "And you?"

"I," he flinched before continuing on. "I am showing the same symptoms." McGonagall frowned deeply and clenched her wand hand. "When I was fighting Gabriella we both had open wounds. The possibility that our blood mingled is very high."

"Am I to understand that you're both now involved in a Vampiric Dynasty, working as spies against Voldemort," both her companions flinched at hearing his name. "And that you'll both be reporting back to the Ord-"

"Minerva!" Snape jumped up from his chair to stand right in front of her. "She doesn't know yet and I _refuse_ to tell her minutes before-" He hissed and clawed at his forearm. "He's calling us." McGonagall nodded and stepped aside to allow him a clear path to Selena. He walked to the side of the bed and held out his hand to take hers as she stood with more agility than she'd previously possessed.

"Have my office ready for when we return," he told McGonagall as he pulled her closer to him. He embraced her tightly and without warning they vanished in a spiral of silver and black smoke. Having Apparated to their destination Selena tilted her head away from her headmaster's chest and saw a decrepit cemetery with a house on a hill about a quarter of a mile away.

She jumped at hearing a crack like a whip fro behind them. She pivoted and saw The Dark Lord step out from a black cloud of smoke, red eyes alive with unconcealed excitement terrifying enough to paralyze. Snape kneeled and pulled her down with him.

"Rise," the cold hiss commanded piercing through the silence. As they rose slowly she kept her gaze towards the ground. "My child, come forward," he beckoned to her endearingly. "Have you decided," he asked her sparing a glance to Snape who smirked and nodded.

"I have," Selena replied with more of firm dedication than she expected. "My Lord," she continued bowing before him to kiss the hem of his robes. He chuckled and his thin, snake like mouth twisted into a casual smile.

"Severus," he spoke softly, "Come forward." As Severus glided to stand beside Selena the Dark Lord's smile widened. "My children," he sighed with pride. "Come, apparate to the Manor with me," he hissed as both kneeled on either side of him. Placing his hands on their shoulder in a uncommon embrace. "We must inform the Malfoys of this… _wonderful_ establishment," and with that they ascended into antimatter leaving only the swirls of silver and black smoke reestablishing their existence in the Entrance Hall of the Malfoy's.

There was the immediate sound of some one bounding down the main stairs case and a moment later Lucius Malfoy ran down the stairs skidding to a less than elegant stop in front of them. He kneeled and the Dark Lord commanded them all to rise. Lucius lead the way back up the stairs and took them down a long hallway with a portrait of Salazar Slytherin at the end. Hissing the command "Open" in Parsseltounge the portrait swung aside and they continued in silence down a narrow set of stairs.

When they arrived at the bottom they were far underground away from any sun light, though the room was ablaze with candles in their holders on the wall. The walls were a light silvery color, the trimmings in the room were black, and all the fabric was, of course a deep, rich shade of green. Typical, thought Selena, but also comfortingly familiar.

From an elegant, ebony cabinet on the other side of the room Malfoy began loading up a silver tray hovering beside him. He was still gathering the last of his items when his wife came down the stair case and after kneeling hurried to her husband's aid. Placing a hand on his shoulder she bent over to continue his work while he straightened up and used his wand to vanish all furniture except for the cabinet, a book shelf, and a dresser. Flicking his wand again he made two twin beds appear side by side and created a hearth with a green rug to put on the black tile floor in front of it.

Meanwhile, his wife used wingardium leviosa to levitate the tray over to the beds. The Dark Lord walked them each to their own bed and they sat on the edge facing each other. The Dark Lord sat down beside Snape so Malfoy took it upon himself to practically jump on the bed next Selena with a smirk and a twinkle in his eye that was slightly reminiscent of the late Albus Dumbledore.

"Lucius Malfoy," he introduced himself with the same arrogant tone as his son. "I've heard a lot about you, Selena," he continued casually. "It's unfortunate we haven't met until now."

"Yes, sir," she agreed quietly, cautiously. His familiar manner of addressing her was to say the least unsettling.

"Lucius, please," he corrected her quickly. "And this lovely gem," he said gesturing to his wife who was walking towards them, tray levitating besides her, "That's Narcissa." Selena and Narcissa spared each other a glance and nodded in acknowledgement of one another. "She's too reserved," he commented childishly.

"_Most_ are when in my presence," The Dark Lord replied flatly. How Selena wondered, could Lucius possibly get away with that.

"We aren't most," Lucius said smiling proudly. Selena could have sworn The Dark Lord would have Avada Kadavara'd his arse faster than she'd be able to blink. Oddly enough the only thing the Dark Lord did was smile pleasantly back.

"You see Selena," Narcissa said softly sitting on her other side while preparing the potions. "We are the true inner circle." Selena looked at them all in disbelief.

"Severus never told you," Lucius asked chuckling at his friends glare.

"I haven't told her much at all," Snape replied. "She was passed out until I brought her here."

"We'll get her up to date soon enough," the Dark Lord commented. "I'll leave you both in the Malfoy's care until tomorrow morning. If you would be so kind," he said turning to Narcissa and Lucius, "As to fill her in on that which concerns her and a few of the general rules and options that come with being one of my… selected favorites."

They both nodded happily as he rose, gliding to the stairs, but stopping before ascending. "I want no one else to know of their situation," he hissed out dangerously. The smiles faded from their faces as they shared a worried look.

"Bella and Rodul-"

"No, Narcissa," he cut her off quickly. "We cannot afford to loose this advantage because of them. Besides that, I still haven't decided about whether or not they will join you." His glare left little room for argument. Luckily for her he relaxed his features before turning to Selena. "By the way, my dear," he began with a smile. "I'm not sure if you've caught on, but you will be accepted as part of the inner circle at the next meeting. Congratulations."

"Thank you, my Lord, such an honor," she replied quickly smiling to hide her disappointment of already being dragged this deep into the Dark side. He nodded and left through the portrait and as soon as he was gone the silence was broken by Lucius.

"Where to begin," he asked himself with the trademark Malfoy smirk plated firmly on his lips. "Ah, how about we start with… where your _true_ loyalties lie."

Author Note: Squeeee it's Cliffy time!!! Sorry, I just love them, I really, really do. Ok, I updated yesterday, I updated today. Let's see if I can update tomorrow, okies? Wow, yeah, short A/N, but hell, who cares. Btw thanks for the one person who seems to be reading this. veelasiren, I appreciate it.


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